


fine print

by quantumducky



Series: real!elias time baybee [1]
Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Gen, Humor, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, aka pure speculation on what real!elias was like, for real it's 2am right now help, spoilers through 160
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:13:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21628171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quantumducky/pseuds/quantumducky
Summary: When Elias is summoned upstairs to James Wright’s office, he’s expecting- oh, a scolding, probably, either for slacking off so much at work or for fucking around with the artifacts.Instead, he gets an offer. One might expect him to regret accepting it almost immediately. It's... a little more complicated than that.Or: Elias Bouchard, through the decades, before what we've heard and after.
Relationships: Elias Bouchard & Jonah Magnus
Series: real!elias time baybee [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1562422
Comments: 25
Kudos: 120





	fine print

**Author's Note:**

> i tried to go to bed at a normal time and instead was Possessed by the Need to Write About Elias, can i get a F in chat for my future self having to get up in like 5 hours
> 
> anyway i'm firmly on team "the real elias was also kinda shitty" ok

When Elias is summoned upstairs to James Wright’s office, he’s expecting- oh, a scolding, probably, either for slacking off so much at work or for fucking around with the artifacts. (In which case he’s prepared to explain how it’s not  _ his _ fault Cathy decided to stand so close while he was, um,  _ testing _ the paperweight that sets your papers on fire. Anyway, it was funny. And they  _ did _ learn more about how it worked, so really, what’s a little missing hair?) He doesn’t  _ admit _ that’s what he’s expecting, though, because he might be sort of bad at his job and a little too carelessly curious for anyone’s safety but he isn’t  _ stupid. _ Which means, when Wright very pleasantly invites him to sit down and says something about how good it is to have him here and  _ smiles _ at him- like that’s a normal thing to do, as if it’s not a running joke in the whole Institute that nobody’s  _ ever _ seen the man genuinely smile- Elias can’t do anything but go along with it, hoping this isn’t some weird, sadistic mind game leading up to himself losing his job.

“I expect you’re wondering why I’ve called you here,” says Wright, probably not realizing what a cliche he sounds like since there’s no way this man has ever watched a movie in his life. He’s still smiling. Elias attempts to smile back, but it’s more likely he just looks confused and mildly terrified.

“Uh, yeah.” He does not say,  _ what’s up, _ because he remembers just in time that’s not how you’re supposed to talk to your boss no matter how weird he’s acting. “What did you want to see me about?” There, nailed it.

He folds his hands on the desk in front of him. “I’d like to offer you an opportunity, Mr. Bouchard. A… promotion, specifically.”

It’s only now that Elias notices the paperwork stacked neatly in front of him. He tries to read it, but the writing is upside-down from his perspective and Wright’s hands are covering half the paper, and anyway, he’s trying to come up with a decent response at the same time. Because Elias is, again, not stupid, he tries not to look as surprised as he actually is, which is in fact  _ a lot. _

“I, wow, thank you,” he starts to say- cutting out the  _ wait, really? _ and  _ why? _ that precede that in his thoughts, because he knows very well at this point in life that when you’re given a completely unearned opportunity, you don’t  _ question _ it, no matter how little sense it makes- but Wright interrupts.

“If you don’t mind, I wasn’t quite finished. I’m sure you’re wondering why I’ve chosen you, specifically,” he says, and he’s absolutely right, even if there’s no way in hell Elias is going to admit it. “We both know you’re hardly the most qualified or experienced candidate, and there are certainly others more… skilled at what they do.” Once again, Elias wonders if he’s secretly taking the long way round to telling him off for being incompetent and possibly also firing him.

Wright’s mouth quirks, like he’s just thought of something amusing. But it’s  _ him, _ so he’s probably thinking fondly about… spreadsheets, or something. Really complicated, detailed spreadsheets. He goes on: “You do, however, have several  _ other _ qualities which make you  _ more _ than ideal for this position.” He absentmindedly straightens his already-perfect stack of papers and looks questioningly at Elias. “If I may?”

“Sure?” Elias isn’t one hundred percent sure what he’s being asked, honestly, but he nods anyway, because what else is he supposed to do in this situation? And then Wright looks even more unsettlingly pleased than before, and leans back in his chair, and tells Elias a story about himself.

_ For most of Elias Bouchard’s adult life, he has been, on some level, disappointing. To his family, to himself, to the friends who appreciate his carefree attitude until they realize it applies equally to life’s stresses and people other than himself. He is a man with plenty of ambition, yet little to none of the work ethic required to actually get anywhere. His coworkers tolerate his overall uselessness because he’s otherwise inoffensive and  _ **_nice._ ** _ What would they say if they knew how frequently he daydreams of backstabbing them on his ruthless way to the top? Ah, but it will never happen like that, not really, that would be too much hard work for Elias’s tastes. _

_ Wouldn’t it be nice if he could get there  _ **_without_ ** _ having to do the work himself? If someone else could take control, and get him everything he’s ever wanted, while all he has to do is sit back and watch and, soon enough, reap the rewards of doing absolutely nothing…  _

“What if,” Wright says, and Elias is jolted back into the moment as if he’s just had some kind of out-of-body experience, “I told you I can make that happen?  _ Elias Bouchard… Head of the Magnus Institute. _ I rather like the sound of that, don’t you?”

He pushes the papers across the desk, along with a pen. He’s already filled out most of it. All Elias needs to do is sign his name in a few places.

He would like to say he accepts the offer in ignorance. It isn’t true. By the time Elias picks up James Wright’s fancy pen and signs the rest of his life away, he Knows  _ exactly _ what he is agreeing to, and he doesn’t care.

What he said was true, after all. This is all Elias Bouchard has ever dreamed of.

* * *

Jonah Magnus- as Elias now knows he is- does as he promised. It’s a matter of days, not months or even weeks, before  _ Elias Bouchard, Head of the Magnus Institute _ becomes a reality, with a shiny new nameplate outside his new office door proclaiming it. James Wright, the real one, is disposed of with little fuss once his aging body is no longer required. Elias does feel bad for the man on some level, but he can’t honestly bring himself to care all that much. The death of someone he’s never really met is just not that  _ interesting _ when there’s so much else going on, all of it very much a positive for him.

Almost all. Elias is, of course, no longer in control over his own body. But how bad  _ is _ that, really? Like this, he’s more successful than  _ anyone _ ever thought he would be, and he is  _ loving _ the stunned looks on the faces of everyone who’s considered him  _ useless _ all this time. And as Jonah keeps reminding him, it’s not as if  _ his _ own choices ever did him much good- except, of course, choosing to agree to  _ this. _

He doesn’t regret it.

But… the excitement does start to wear off, eventually. As Elias realizes that the rest of his life is a  _ really long time, _ longer than he really understood when he signed those papers, and that he’s never going to get to actually  _ enjoy _ his new power if he doesn’t have any ability whatsoever to make  _ somebody _ do anything other than just  _ work _ all the damn time. He was  _ right _ about “James Wright’s” only true joy in life being spreadsheets, and very frequently he feels that if he has to sit in his own head while Jonah Magnus gets  _ way _ too into the scheduling one more time, he is  _ genuinely _ going to lose it. And then of course there’s the murder, which is highly unpleasant to watch and  _ so much worse _ to be able to  _ feel, _ and he had sort of liked Gertrude, from what he’d seen of her. But she was trying to kill  _ them, _ after all, and something had to be done about it- that thought originates from Jonah, but Elias can’t say he disagrees. Still. Neither of them much likes getting their hands dirty like this.

Also, Jonah has just the  _ worst _ taste in men, and Elias has no escape from his terrible, spooky sex life. And every time he tries to point out this is not what he agreed to let him use his body for, the bastard thinks something smug at him about not reading the contract closely enough or whatever and goes right back to re-seducing a man Elias literally just convinced him to break up with last week, and he can’t be entirely sure he didn’t only do any of that in the first place to fuck with the both of them. So he’s kind of in hell, actually, as far as that goes.

To assume all that matters is what Jonah  _ does, _ though? That would be missing the point entirely. Sharing minds, it turns out, goes both ways. Elias  _ knows _ everything he knows, now, and Jonah Magnus knows  _ so much. _ Things he didn’t even know existed in the first place to  _ have _ things known about them. Two hundred years of supernatural research is worth something after all, he supposes. Elias sifts through Jonah’s memories, ignoring his mixture of amusement and irritation, and learns  _ everything. _ And most importantly- he learns about the Eye.

Their god. Although Jonah doesn’t like him calling it a god, any more than he likes being a  _ we _ with Elias. They don’t  _ worship _ it, he tries to explain, because that would be  _ stupid. _ It doesn’t care about  _ them. _ It’s a force of nature- and one he intends to harness for his own ends- not some sort of sentient deity. Really, if Jonah were any less confident in his ability to control what little of it they actually interact with, he wouldn’t be foolish enough to go anywhere near it. The Eye itself isn’t the point here, is what he’s trying to say; it’s what they can use it to  _ do _ that matters.

Elias thinks he should speak for himself. As far as  _ he’s _ concerned, Beholding is the first thing he’s come across in his life that he’s  _ happy _ to worship, whether his love for what it is actually matters to it or not. He knows that Jonah finds this very funny, and he doesn’t care. Whatever else Elias may increasingly hate him for, however little he may  _ understand, _ Jonah is the reason Elias found his god, and he will  _ never _ regret that, if it’s the only good thing that ever really comes of letting him in.

* * *

The end of the world. It’s such an ignorant way of putting things, but of course, the rest of the world was never going to be able to understand what a  _ gift _ Jonah has given them. Jonah himself doesn’t even understand, not really. He has never loved the fear- loves inflicting it on others, certainly, as sadistic bastards go he’s among the best, but  _ feeling _ it for himself? No, no. He’s always hated to let even Elias know his thoughts, powerless as he is to do anything with the information. It’s either ironic or pathetic, how even the man  _ responsible _ for changing the world can’t appreciate what he’s wrought.

But Elias does. He’s right there alongside him, drinking it all in, the absolute wonderful terror of everyone in the world, all the while feeling the gaze of the Eye pin them in place as it does everyone else, like butterflies on a collector’s board, and it is  _ glorious. _ He finally understands, firsthand, the  _ apotheosis _ other entities’ servants have spoken of regarding their ritual attempts. With Jonah’s new power channeling through their shared body, there will be nothing but this for him, forever. It’s the best fate he can possibly imagine.

And then- he doesn’t know it until it’s already happening, why didn’t he  _ know- _ all at once, Jonah leaves him. He no longer needs the Panopticon to See everything, no longer needs a borrowed body in order to live outside it, and he just  _ leaves. _ After decades of existing as a helpless passenger in his own head, Elias Bouchard is in control of his body again. He falls to his knees almost immediately, tears streaming down his face.

His first thought is,  _ finally. _ His second- when he realizes what Jonah is taking with him- is  _ no. No, you can’t do this- the rest of my  _ **_life,_ ** _ the contract said, you can’t just  _ **_leave-_ **

But no one is there, anymore, to hear his thoughts. And he doesn’t know where Jonah is now or how to find him, or  _ anything, _ even, other than his own surroundings. He has-  _ nothing. _ Elias is finally in control of his body again, after  _ decades. _ And all he does with it is kneel on the floor and cry, as the Eye above watches and knows and offers nothing whatsoever to ease his loss.

If Jonah  _ were _ here, right now, he would probably have something to say about the importance of reading the fine print.

**Author's Note:**

> this was. written in the middle of the night. and not edited. at all. please tell me if i missed a typo somewhere lol


End file.
